Your Right to Know

The Democratic Party leaders of the Ohio House and Senate are demanding an apology from Gov.
John Kasich over a spokesman’s comments about state Rep. Debbie Phillips.

Rob Nichols offered up harsh words about Phillips after the Albany Democrat sent Kasich a
letter demanding more information about the resignation of George Elmaraghy, the Ohio Environmental
Protection Agency’s top water-quality watchdog.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a job creator that she hasn’t opposed, vilified or protested
at some point,” Nichols wrote Thursday in an emailed statement to The Dispatch. “If she had her way
we’d all be living on a collective farm cooking organic quinoa over a dung fire. So, I think we’ll
take her views in context.”

“I find it pretty extreme and ridiculous,” she said. “It’s made the whole thing even more
suspicious.”

Nichols did not immediately return a call for comment this afternoon.

The harsh words are part of the fallout from a situation that came to light on Aug. 19. That’s
when Elmaraghy sent an email to his staff that said Kasich and Ohio EPA director Scott Nally
demanded he resign as surface-water division chief due to “considerable pressure” from coal
companies.

The companies, Elmaraghy wrote, wanted water-pollution permits “that may have a negative
impact on Ohio’s streams and wetlands and violate state and federal laws.”

The Ohio EPA and the state’s coal industry have a history of disputes over permits that
businesses must obtain before they can release pollutants into streams, remove streams and
wetlands, or fill them in. The permits attempt to minimize environmental damage and outline the
work needed to repair or replace waterways.

Since Kasich began his gubernatorial campaign in 2009, Ohio coal interests have poured nearly
$1 million into campaign coffers of statewide and legislative candidates, a Dispatch analysis of
secretary of state data shows.

Elmaraghy initially agreed to step down on Sept. 13. Shortly after his Aug. 19 email, he
hired an attorney and has launched an effort to keep his job.

Kasich and Nally have refused to answer questions about Elmaraghy. Heard and Senate Minority
Leader Eric Kearney, D-Cincinnati, said the public should get answers about what happened.

“There absolutely is a requirement for a public accounting,” Heard said.